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Decompression Sickness Damaging the Spinal Cord in a Scuba Diver: Case Report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

B.G. Mathew
B.G. Mathew
Affiliation:
Department of Plastic Surgery, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, United Kingdom.
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Extract

Scuba diving has become a popular sport resulting in an increased incidence of diving accidents. A survey done by the United States Navy from 1955 to 1960 revealed that decompression sickness (D.C.S.) is the most common serious complication experienced by scuba divers and the third most likely cause of death. The major cause is drowning and the second is arterial gas embolism from pulmonary barotrauma.

D.C.S. has been classified into two groups. Type I includes the less severe forms with bubbles in the skin (“itches”), joints and other tissues. Type II includes the serious conditions with neurological involvement “staggers.” A detailed knowledge of D.C.S., commonly known as “the bends,” is essential to both divers and emergency personnel in order to minimize the morbidity and mortality associated with this condition.

A case of Type II bends with spinal cord damage is presented and the condition discussed.

Type
Clinical Topics
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 3 , Issue 2: Contributions from the Fouth World Congress on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Brighton, England May, 1985 , 1987 , pp. 41 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1987

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References

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